THE ROBERT FRIPP STRING QUINTET: THE BRIDGE BETWEEN

This is actually one of my favorite non-King Crimson Fripp albums after Exposure. I wish he spent more time working on music like this than those mind numbingly boring "Frippertronics" albums.

Here, Fripp and Trey Gunn, the very talented stick player from the most recent incarnations of King Crimson, team up with The California Guitar Trio to play some modern chamber music. To solidify the chamber music feel, there are some actual J.S. Bach pieces, as well as some original pieces in the same vein. The steel stringed acoustic guitars of the CGT, played in perfect precision, have a sound not unlike a harpsichord, and capture the mood exquisitely. Here, the Frippertronics added as washes behind the music adds depth to the pieces, and Gunn's stick adds a solid bottom to the music as well.

The only Crimson-like piece on the album is the eerie Threnody For Souls In Torment, a soundscape piece somewhat reminiscent of The Deception Of The Thrush improvs, without many of the sound effect overlays.

A solid four stars for this one.